The Taipei Social Workers’ Union and 37 other groups yesterday protested the two-year prison sentence handed down to a social worker surnamed Chen (陳) in the “Kai Kai” case in front of the Executive Yuan, urging the state to apologize and shoulder the responsibility for a failing system.
Hualien County Social Worker Union president Huang Chun-chia (黃浚嘉) said the protesters had gathered in front of the Executive Yuan, as previous protests at the Ministry of Health and Welfare seemed ineffective.
The Kai Kai case is a cross-ministry incident and the government owes the public an apology, Huang said, adding that it must shoulder responsibility for the failing child protection system.
Photo: Lo Pei-de, Taipei Times
Kaohsiung Social Worker Union representative A Chueh (阿雀) said that despite 20 years in the industry, she had begun to consider whether the risks of being a social worker were worth it.
It is the government that approves the status of social workers, but when incidents occur, the government does not provide any backing or support, they said.
The groups called on the government to identify where the system has failed and what measures are being taken to address it.
The government should review foster care, social relief, housing support and child protection policies, and address discontinuity between them, they said.
The government must clarify the limits of the system to prevent social workers from becoming targets of criticism in similar incidents, which only serve to rend society apart, the groups said.
Social welfare workers should be invited to participate in investigations and analyses of important social welfare incidents, they said.
Social workers are not omnipotent, and the state should be the final guarantor for child survival rights, they said.
Kai Kai was a one-year-old who died on Dec. 24, 2023, after being abused by his two caregivers, sparking criticism against Taiwan’s child protection system.
Chen, the social worker at the Child Welfare League Foundation, managed the case and was tasked with periodic visits to Kai Kai’s nannies, Liu Tsai-hsuan (劉彩萱) and Liu Juo-lin (劉若琳).
Chen was handed a two-year prison sentence for death due to negligence on Tuesday.
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